Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this match between Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
